The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) has just released information on the legislation that the Committee says "reduces health care costs, allows Americans to keep the coverage they have if they want it, and makes health insurance affordable to those who do not have it today," the "Affordable Health Choices Act." A press release by the Committee says that Chairman Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and Committee Members and staff have been working on the legislation for over a year.

Highlights of the Act include:

-- A group health plan and a health insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage may not impose any preexisting condition exclusion with respect to such plan or coverage;

-- With respect to the premium rate charged by a health insurance issuer for health insurance coverage offered in the individual or group market the rate cannot vary by health status-related factors, gender, class of business, and claims experience;

--The bill provides affordable options for those persons who don't currently have health insurance or wish to change their coverage;

--The bill has provisions to reduce health care costs through prevention, better quality of care and use of information technology, as well as measures against fraud and abuse;

--The bill provides for information to be widely available in health care settings, schools and communities for citizens to be proactive about their health care, as well as promoting early screenings of heart disease, cancer, and depression;

-- Improving access to and the delivery of health care services for all, in particular low income, underserved, uninsured, minority, health disparity, and rural populations through gathering and assessing comprehensive data for the health care workforce-- including research on the supply, demand, distribution, diversity, and skills needs of the health care workforce; increasing the supply of a qualified health care workforce, enhancing health care workforce education and training, and providing support to the existing health care workforce;

--Long term care will be addressed through measures to assist the elderly and disabled to install ramps in their homes, pay someone to check in on them regularly, and other supports.

Senator Kennedy was quoted in the press release: "Our health care system is a crisis for American families and President Obama and members of Congress of both parties recognize the urgency of the problem. Our goal is to strengthen what works and fix what doesn't. Over the next few days, we will continue working with our Republican colleagues on common sense solutions that reduce skyrocketing health care costs, assure quality care for all and provide affordable health insurance choices. Much work remains, and the coming days and weeks won't be easy. But we have a unique opportunity to give the American people, at long last, the health care they need and deserve."

Senator Christopher J. Dodd, (D-CT), vice chair of the HELP Committee, was also quoted: "Health care reform cannot and must not wait. Today, we will introduce legislation that will strengthen what works and fix what doesn't. If you like the insurance you have today, you can keep it. If you don't like what you have today, we'll give you better choices, including a public option for health care. This does not symbolize the end of the game or even the end of the first quarter. We still have a lot of work ahead of us and are looking forward to working with our colleagues on a bipartisan basis to resolve the remaining issues and move forward with a markup of this legislation next week."

A copy of the bill may be accessed at: http://help.senate.gov/BAI09A84_xml.pdf
Based on a press release by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and the legislation of the Affordable Health Choices Act.

Links:
http://help.senate.gov/Maj_press/2009_06_09.pdf
http://help.senate.gov/BAI09A84_xml.pdf

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